This is page numbers 47 - 70 of the Hansard for the 14th Assembly, 2nd Session. The original version can be accessed on the Legislative Assembly's website or by contacting the Legislative Assembly Library. The word of the day was communities.

Topics

Further Return To Question 27-14(2): Student Employment Program
Question 27-14(2): Student Employment Program
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Range Lake, Miss Lee.

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question is to the Premier. It is in regards to the situation of the laid off Giant Mine workers. Mr. Speaker, there are a huge number of laid off Giant Mine workers that live in my riding. Throughout my campaign, I have had many occasions to talk to them about their predicament. It seems they had to suffer through a major problem with their severance pay, and now the latest thing is that their pension will be cut by 25 percent. My question to the Premier is to ask him what this government has done, thus far, in terms of addressing these problems with the pension and severance for these workers?

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, Premier.

Return To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are concerned about the situation for the workers of Giant Mine and the difficulties they are having with their pensions. We have raised that with the Member of Parliament, Ethel Blondin Andrew, and she has informed us recently that she is checking out possible ways in which the federal government may consider addressing this difficulty. At this time, we know that she has raised it with the Secretary of State for Financial Institutions. There is no indication, at this time, whether the federal government will be able to do anything to help, but this is the extent of the work that has been done on this particular issue. Thank you.

Return To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

February 23rd, 2000

Page 57

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the Premier's answer with respect to the pension side of this predicament of the workers, but there is also the question of severance pay, which was a lot less than most workers had expected. I appreciate, Mr. Speaker, that with respect to the severance package, it was a deal made between two private companies. But what I would like the Minister to know is that it is not just about two companies dealing with this. It involves the working of all governments. My question to the Minister is, will the Premier make a commitment to really put pressure on the federal government to address the concerns of these workers? I really think that the government has to pressure this. This is not just about the deals between two companies. It is about the rights of workers. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, Premier.

Further Return To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We know the federal government shares the concerns raised by the Member, and we believe the federal government is taking the matter seriously to the extent that the Member of Parliament has raised it with the federal ministers, with a resolve to try to address and alleviate the difficulties that this issue raises with the Giant Mine employees. That is the extent to which we can comment on it. We know the federal government is taking it seriously and they are looking for ways to help, if they can. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Kakfwi. Supplementary, Ms. Lee.

Supplementary To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

Sandy Lee

Sandy Lee Range Lake

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will make this question very short. Will the Premier make the commitment to make these items, this pension and severance for the workers, a priority of his workload? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Supplementary To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Ms. Lee. The Honourable Stephen Kakfwi, Premier.

Further Return To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

Stephen Kakfwi

Stephen Kakfwi Sahtu

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will commit to following up with the Member of Parliament to see that we keep whatever pressure we can on getting the federal government to provide some positive response at the earliest possible date. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Question 28-14(2): Pension And Severance Concerns Of Giant Mine Employees
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 57

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Premier. Item 6, oral questions. The Member for Mackenzie Delta, Mr. Krutko.

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister responsible for the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation. As we all know, Mr. Speaker, there is a real demand in a lot of our communities for housing. I think one way we can look at trying to find ways of alleviating some of the pressures in our communities is by developing elders' facilities within these communities, so at least one sector of our community could be dealt with. Due to the impact of the shortages of houses, this would be beneficial, since a lot of the elders want to stay in our smaller communities. They want to be close to families and friends during the later years of their lives.

With that, Mr. Speaker, the community of Tsiigehtchic has been asking this government for years for such a facility to be built in their community. I would like to ask the Minister responsible for Housing, is this department going to be able to assist the community of Tsiigehtchic by developing such a facility to offset the impacts of housing shortages in the community of Tsiigehtchic?

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Minister responsible for Housing, Mr. Roger Allen.

Return To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I appreciate the question. We are trying to address all the requests coming from several communities, along with Tsiigehtchic. We recognize there is a need to address senior housing in this community. We are going to try to travel into each community to talk to various members of the communities in appreciation of the elders' request. Hopefully, at that point, we will answer the Member's question Thank you.

Return To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Supplementary To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the community of Tsiigehtchic has been trying to find a way to have this facility built for years now, and this is nothing new to this department. Again, I would like to ask the Minister, is his department willing to take into consideration that the housing shortages of Tsiigehtchic can be easily remedied by simply developing a public facility in the community of Tsiigehtchic so that those elders can be housed in one facility and they will be able to have those other units opened up to the general public? Will the Minister consider looking at this seriously?

Supplementary To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Minister responsible for the Housing Corporation, Mr. Allen.

Further Return To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Certainly, as I learned more about how the corporation works and how the programs are administered, we will examine the present program delivery methods and see if we can improve in various ways. One of the things we do is we are trying to determine, at this point, how we can best and more sufficiently, deliver some of the programs that the Member has asked. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Supplementary, Mr. Krutko.

Supplementary To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

David Krutko

David Krutko Mackenzie Delta

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Minister made reference, in his comments, that he is willing to go into the communities and deal with this problem. How soon can the Minister commit to go into the community of Tsiigehtchic and sit down on this matter and try to find a resolution?

Supplementary To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Krutko. The Minister for Housing, Mr. Allen.

Further Return To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

Roger Allen

Roger Allen Inuvik Twin Lakes

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We are currently setting up a bunch of travel dates, travel itineraries into various regions and settlements. Just to make you aware that we will be travelling to the South Slave March 12, 2000 and March 13, 2000 to talk to the local housing associations. We will also talk to the North Slave the week following. The earliest I can indicate to the Member is early to mid-April. Thank you.

Further Return To Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Question 29-14(2): Elders' Facilities In Tsiigehtchic
Item 6: Oral Questions

Page 58

The Speaker

The Speaker Tony Whitford

Thank you, Mr. Allen. Final supplementary, Mr. Krutko.